Central MN Football Fans Treated To Great Weekend

It was an incredible weekend for Central Minnesota football fans, with nearly every local team in action picking up a key win.

On Friday, the Rocori Spartans beat Delano 35-7 at St. Cloud State's Husky Stadium to advance to the semifinal round of the Class AAAA State Tournament, while Paynesville also advanced in the Class AA tournament with a convincing 56-8 win over Moose Lake/Willow River.

The Spartans will take on Winona on Friday at US Bank Stadium, with kickoff slated for 4:30 p.m. on WJON, while Paynesville will play against Minneapolis North on Thursday at 2 PM.

On Saturday, the Johnnies, Huskies and Gophers all earned wins as well.

The Johnnies destroyed Hamline 70-0 in Collegeville. The win avenged a loss to Concordia the previous week, and clinched a share of the MIAC title and an NCAA Tournament bid for SJU.

The Huskies snapped a four-game losing skid with a 31-19 home win over Minot State. The win improves SCSU to 4-6 on the season heading into the season finale Saturday against Minnesota State-Moorhead at Husky Stadium (1 pm, WJON).

Perhaps the biggest win of all came not in Central Minnesota, but in Dinkytown as the #17 ranked Gophers upset #5 Penn State 31-26. The Gophers moved up to #7 in the latest AP Poll, and will play at #18 Iowa Saturday (3 pm, AM 1390 Granite City Sports).

The Vikings put a cherry on the sundae with a 28-24 win on Sunday night football over the Dallas Cowboys, improving Minnesota to 7-3. The Vikings will host the Denver Broncos Sunday (Noon, WJON).